NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A dilapidated tunnel in Grand Central Terminal that leads to the 7 train line has been updated with a brand-new staircase and passageway, the MTA announced at its opening Tuesday.
Construction crews built a staircase to the 7 train line platform and widened existing staircases 25% to connect the 4, 5 and 6 lines to the existing tunnel and improve customer flow.
“The new passageway and widened staircases will greatly improve passenger circulation for hundreds of thousands of daily riders at one of the busiest transfer points in our system.” MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said. “Our team delivered this project on time and under budget, all while minimizing impact on the customers who rely on it.”
To begin construction, crews last year dropped down a 55-foot shaft and began removing 1,000 tons of dirt and performed controlled blasts through the bedrock to create the new passageway under 42nd Street.
“A thousand tons of dirt and 140 feet of Manhattan Schist couldn’t get in the way of another on-time and under-budget MTA capital project,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “We are blasting through bedrock and red tape to deliver more for New Yorkers, no matter what’s happening in Washington.”
The station improvements—which totaled $74.2 million—also included work to keep the existing infrastructure in good shape. Visible concrete, steel and paint defects were repaired and fire alarms and other utilities on Grand Central Terminal platforms were updated.
Artwork along the length of the platform was cleaned, re-lit and received a retrofit to accommodate the new stairs, and artist Christopher Sproat’s functional sculpture “V-Beams” was suspended from the ceiling with a cantilevered design. The piece was commissioned by MTA Arts & Design and installed in 2000.
Funding for the construction was made possible by the East Midtown Rezoning adopted by the New York City Council which allowed property rent revenues to fund transit infrastructure
The project created over 250 jobs and was completed with the help of weekend outages to help minimize its impact on customers. It was done as part of the entire Grand Central-42 Street Circulations Improvement Project, which will conclude later this year.